


Bottling It Up

by ItsyBitsyBatsySpider



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Boys In Love, Canon Gay Character, Coming of Age, Cuties, Driving, First Kiss, Fluff, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, Gen, Homophobia, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Music, Other, Road Trips, Romance, i would die for them, these dumbass gays, they're so adorable, they're so chaotic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 18:48:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20801237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsyBitsyBatsySpider/pseuds/ItsyBitsyBatsySpider
Summary: Richie's used to suppressing and bottling things up, especially his unwanted emotions.But when he finds himself in a car and listening to music as Eddie belts the lyrics, he begins to realize that when you bottle too many things up, the glass can start to crack......and then it breaks.





	Bottling It Up

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, this is my very first romantic fic, so please tell me if its good or bad. And i have been in the IT fandom for like exactly two weeks and im already ready to die for these two gay idiots.  
So with that said, i hope you guys enjoy!!

It was the fall of 1993, and the Loser’s club was going into their fourth year of high school. 

They were all going to be seniors, and as strange as that seemed to them, to actually be in high school and growing up, none of them could come to the reality of what being in high school meant. Which was change. 

Even in their previous years, teachers and administration were questioning them about their life choices for the future. What they were planning to do with their lives, what career path they wanted to take, which college they thought would suit them best, when they would start driving, when they would register to vote, and all of that normal suppressive school stuff. And with change came both reluctance and acceptance. 

Because none of them really wanted to leave the good ole’ days, when it was just them in their secret clubhouse against the world. Those days were simple. They were easy to understand. They weren’t complicated. 

And everything about high school was complicated. 

So to say that Richie hadn’t changed from the golden days would be a big-ass white lie. It’d be like one of those white lies you would tell a relative at a family reunion, one who you had no idea existed and yet they knew everything about you, and then when you’re hugging you’d be mouthing to your mother ‘Who the fuck is this?’.

One of those white lies. 

And to be fair, everyone in the Loser’s club had changed in some way. Mainly in height than anything else, but there were other more subtle differences. Such as how Bill’s hair had begun to grow over his eyes and he started combing it back with gel. Or how Ben had begun to outgrow his baby fat and was actually growing into the version of him he was meant to be. Or how Stan’s shoulders had grown wider and he looked way more muscular than he had when they were kids. Or how Mike seemed to walk the hallways of their high school with an air of confidence. Or how Beverly started being a bit more open with her friends. Or how Richie had become an entity of gangly limbs with still too big glasses. Or how Eddie’s hair was now wavy instead of straight and how he seemed to be more comfortable in his own skin. 

Changes were inevitable, that was just how life was, and Richie wanted to run away from it. 

Which was probably the underlying reason why he was the first one out of all of the Loser’s to get his driver’s permit. It came as a surprise to some of them, because Richie Tozier? Was the first one? To drive? 

It was bizarre.

And it was when Richie got his permit, that the whole reality of growing up really hit them all in the gut. Because if Richie of all people had decided to start growing up, then that meant it was all real. They still hung out with each other, obviously, it was hard to find one of them without another Loser standing by their side. And after Richie had gotten his permit, he had announced himself as the official Limo Driver for the group, as long as his mom let him use the car. 

And with no hesitation, they took up Richie on his offer. Whether it was something as small as a drive to the grocery store, to the quarry, from one side of the street to the other (curtesy of Eddie), Richie happily agreed to drive them. Because not only did that mean that they could still be with each other, it also gave the dark-haired boy a reason to get out of his house. Over the years he had begun to dislike being in his own house, the atmosphere and the constant feeling of apprehension and tensity made it nearly impossible for him to relax and feel at home. So when he was able to drive, he took it as his chance to get away. 

And driving gave him a sense of freedom, of independence, and of confidence. When he was driving, Richie could let go of the worries he had and just focus on the open road in front of him. He would drive through the country and blare music as loud as his car would let him, letting the lyrics wash over him and just basking in the temporary feeling of euphoria. 

Sometimes he would take one of his friends with him on his drives, but that rarely happened. Those were usually Richie moments and a part of the teen wanted to keep those moments for himself. It was a place where he could be himself without having to worry about being judged for who he really was, and maybe it was selfish, but it was what he wanted. 

It wasn’t till one late October day, did Richie have the opportunity to drive on his own again. He wasn’t feeling particularly safe at his house, because the moment his mother stepped through the front door, Richie knew that something was off. It was in the way she set down her bag a little too harshly and walked across the living room with a huff. The behavior set off alarm bells in the teen’s head, and the voice in his head told him to shut up and do nothing. But it also told him to get away. 

He felt itchy for the open breeze and for the roar of wind in his ears, and he knew he had to get out of the house, before something bad happened. So Richie stood up from his spot on the couch and walked over to the door, slipping on easy shoes and his brightly colored jacket that was an eyesore for anyone who looked at it. His mom chose that moment to walk back into the room, and when she saw what her son was doing, she froze. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” she said tightly, her voice rigid with frustration and annoyance. 

Richie didn’t look her in the eye. “Out.” he said simply. 

“Why?” her voice cut tensely through the air, causing Richie’s shoulders to go tight. 

“C-cause....” the teen took in a shuddering breath. “I have to.” 

He heard his mom scoff, “Yeah okay,  _ Richie,  _ you do that. Go ahead and fucking run away, because apparently it’s what you’re good at. It’s all you’re good for. The  _ moment  _ something gets hard you just take off don’t you!? You don’t stay to deal with it you just run away! How did I manage to raise someone like that huh?! _ I didn’t raise no motherfucking bi-”  _

The curly-haired teen practically snatched the keys and immediately shot out the door, a grim look on his face and ridiculous looking jacket hanging haphazardly off his nimble shoulders. He hopped into the car easily and put in the keys, turning on the engine almost instinctively, and with a swift movement he had pulled out of his driveway and was rolling down the street. He didn’t even notice the small droplets of water that had gotten on his glasses and blurred his vision. Oh wait...those weren’t droplets.

The feeling of the car’s wheel against his hands made Richie feel better, even if it was only slightly. The purr of the engine buzzed vaguely in his ears and as if by second-nature he drove, even though he wasn’t paying attention. He didn’t really care where he was going, just as long as he got to drive and get away from that-that house, he would be fine. 

He would be fine.

The teen made a few random turns, when he realized suddenly that somehow he had ended up close to a specific someone’s neighborhood. 

His eyebrows furrowed behind his glasses as he squinted up at the houses. Why had he chosen to come here? 

Richie swallowed hard, and his hands shifted on the wheel. He should just turn around, no one would know that he was here. He should just leave and head out like he normally did on these days. But something made him pause. Why should he drive away? After all, it was only  _ Eddie’s  _ neighborhood, he had no real reason to just turn around and head in the other direction. He was fine. Why should he feel panicked that he drove to Eddie’s neighborhood. That was stupid. He was fine. 

The words his mother said rang in his head and the teen cringed, because even though he’s lived with her for years, the words still found some way to hurt. It was dumb, but they still hurt. He should’ve been used to it. He was fine. It didn’t matter. Just drive. He was fine. 

Richie wiped furiously at his eyes and sniffled strongly as he continued to drive down the street, Eddie’s street, why exactly he came here, he wasn’t entirely sure. Although some deeper part of him knew why, but he silenced that thought. No need to bring it up again after these last few years. That part of him just caused trouble, it was easier to bottle all of it up and throw it away and try to ignore it. 

And oh, how he tried to ignore it.

He tried to suppress the flutter in his chest every time Eddie laughed. It was such a cute laugh. It sounded like music to Richie’s ears and he wanted to hear it all day, every day, and he desperately wanted to be the cause for that laugh. 

He bottled that up. 

He tried to ignore how sometimes the sun glinted perfectly through Eddie’s eyes, looking like the perfect mixture of honey and whiskey, and Richie couldn’t decide which version he liked better. 

He bottled that up too. 

He tried to ignore how every time they accidentally touched felt like electricity, how it caused an alarm to go threw his brain and almost made him freeze in a panic. Which was why he was intentionally clingy to the smaller boy. The alarm couldn’t go off if he was the one setting it off. That’s how it worked right?

He bottled that one up. 

He tried to ignore just how perfectly the other boy seemed to fit in his arms when they hugged and he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment every time he left his embrace. 

So he bottled that up too. Because not only would it keep their relationship safe, it would keep Richie safe. It was better to lie and live than be truthful and found at the bottom of the river. 

But now wasn’t the time to deal with his damned sexuality crisis, that should still be buried for another day. Richie shook his head, trying to shake away the emotions that had suddenly come up and he breathed in deeply. 

_ Just ignore it. You’re fine. _ He repeated in his head like a mantra. He turned to the road, curly hair falling in his eyes, and hands tight on the wheel. He drove past a few more houses, taking note how it suddenly got chillier and how the sky was beginning to darken, when he noticed him. 

Walking on the sidewalk, with his head ducked, arms crossed over his chest, and wearing those damn fucking shorts and fanny pack. 

Eddie. 

Richie’s eyebrows furrowed and he leaned forward in his seat. What the hell was Eddie doing out here by himself? Turning the wheel and slowing down, the car made its way to the sidewalk and stopped right next to Eddie. The said boy turned when he heard the car pull up and he looked at it quizzically before chocolate eyes dawned in realization and he recognized it as Richie’s. His shoulders relaxed and his scowling features turned soft as his friend cranked down the window with some struggle and leaned over. 

“Eddie, what the diddly fuck are you doing?” 

“Walking, what does it look like dipshit?” Eddie instinctively snapped back. 

“It looks like you’re trying to take a shit standing up.” Richie said with a smirk. 

“Shut up!” 

Eddie groaned in familiar annoyance while Richie cackled. He fiddled with the leather of the steering wheel and bit his lip while Eddie still stood there, kicking at the ground. His hair started to fall out of it’s normal neatness, falling into his eyes and Richie tried to not think about it. He bottled it up. 

“Do you want a ride?” he asked all of a sudden, breaking the silence. Eddie looked up from the cement and eyed Richie and his car. Eyes trailing over the sketchy vehicle and the even sketchier person driving it. “Anywhere you want! You were obviously going somewhere, so I’ll drive you! Come on, dickwad.” 

Eddie scoffed, “Absolutely not! Do you have any idea how many germs could possibly be on this thing? It’s like an infection ark! Look! You can clearly see the colonies of germs just waiting for me to touch it.” 

“Oh come on! It’s not that bad you idiot.” Richie said, his arm draped across the passenger seat in a facade of ease. Eddie looked at the seat suspiciously, his mouth curling up in a look of distrust that Richie couldn’t help but think how cute it made him look. He ignored it. 

“Fine.” the smaller boy said after a moment of contemplation. A small smile grew on Richie’s face as Eddie stepped forward and slid into the passenger seat, sinking into himself and crossing his arms again. 

He did not look happy. 

But whether that was about the germy car or whatever had caused him to be out here in the first place, Richie couldn’t tell. The second Eddie sat down, he zipped open his fanny pack and took out a package of baby wipes. 

“Oh my fucking god are you serious?” 

Eddie snapped to look at Richie, a wipe in hand. “Yes, I’m serious. Now shut up, asshole.” the teen immediately began to furiously scrub at the dashboard, then the seatbelt, then the gear shift, and then he pulled out another one, and began to scrub the wheel. Richie rolled his eyes as his friend (crush) frantically tried his best to clean the car, and it took about ten minutes before Eddie had deemed the car relatively safe and nodded his head in satisfaction. And after what seemed like forever to Richie, he pulled on his seat belt and gestured to the road. 

“Drive.” 

“Finally!” Richie turned on the car and pulled out onto the street. 

The two rolled down the street, with a few jaunts aimed at each other and a little bit of bickering every few minutes or so as they drove on. 

“So where we going?” Richie asked, his hands lazily hanging onto the wheel as he focused on the road. His eyes glancing between the street ahead and to the cute boy next to him, and after hearing his words, Eddie’s small smile faltered. He turned away and glanced out the window, biting his bottom lip and fidgeting with his shirt sleeve. 

“Anywhere.” he said, not looking at Richie as he did so. The curly-haired teen felt an air of apprehension fall upon the car, and he suddenly got the idea that Eddie didn’t want to talk. Alarm bells went off in Richie’s head, and he couldn’t help but feel himself fall into the mood he normally used whenever his mother acted the same way. 

“Just get me away from here, I can’t fucking stand being anywhere near this place!” Eddie continued, doing that funny thing he does with his hand where he karate chops the air in order to emphasize what he’s saying. 

“You…you wanna get out of Derry?” Richie asked, his voice both hopeful and confused at the same time. He was trying to keep whatever he was saying light and airy in an attempt to level out the suddenly ominous mood of the car. He couldn’t tell if it was working. 

“Well, no, just...I don’t wanna be home for a while. So just, drive anywhere. I don’t give a fuck.” 

“Hmm...well in that case, let’s turn on some tunes, roll down the windows, and get the fuck out of Dodge! Welcome to Loser’s Limo Unlimited this is your driver speaking and we’re gonna be doing some weird shit!” 

Eddie snorted at that despite his current mood, and Richie took it as a win. He always enjoyed seeing and hearing Eddie laugh, so he took it as a good sign that things weren’t as bad as his friend was making them out to be. The smaller boy leaned down and turned on the radio in the car, filling the deafening silence with pleasant music and lightness. Richie’s normal station was already pulled up so no tuning was needed to find the right one, and almost immediately  _ Sugar Shack  _ by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs started playing. 

The two boys began bouncing and bopping to the music as they drove on. Well, it was actually more Richie than it was the both of them, but either way the music helped to lift the mood. And before they knew it, they were acting like the teenagers they actually were. 

The suburban streets turned into the back roads behind Derry, and then sooner or later, they were driving through the country. Fields on either side of them, open air, the asphalt speeding underneath them as they zoomed through the countryside, and the sun beginning to dip in the tell tale sign that it was sunset. It touched the horizon, and as it did so, the sky was splashed with colors of orange and pink and gold and blue. The grass fields glowed a soft orange as they were basked in the final lights of day. Eddie cranked down his window all the way and stuck his hand out, feeling the wind press against his arm in a pleasant pressure. The cool wind that flew through the window started to torrent in the back of the car, causing both of the boys’ hair to start flying around, and they smiled as the wind and hair tickled their faces. 

Another song drifted onto the radio, this time it was  _ Never Gonna Give You Up  _ and Eddie felt like dying the moment he saw Richie start to dramatically dance and lip sync to it. He turned to Eddie as he ‘sang’ the song and acted as if he was singing it to him. 

“ _ Never gonna give you up! _ ” he pointed at Eddie.

“ _ Never gonna let you down! Never gonna run around or _ ,” he leaned over to Eddie with his heart over his chest.  _ “Desert you!” _ Eddie rolled his eyes. 

“ _ Never gonna make you cry! _ ” he dragged his finger down his face as if it was a tear. “ _ Never gonna say goodbye! Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you!”  _

“Okay asshole, shut up and focus on the road!” Eddie said half-seriously as a wide smile graced his lips and his eyes sparkled with mirth. He contentedly watched as Richie sang along to songs, jumping in every now and then when it was needed, and as the wind tousled up his unruly hair he couldn’t help but notice how the lighting from the falling sun seemed to make him glow. And it wasn’t until later that Eddie chose to lip sync to a song too, causing Richie to stare at him in shock and surprise. A piano intro came onto the radio and without fully thinking about what he was doing, Eddie started to lightly sing along with it.

“I’m sailing away, set an open course for the virgin sea...”

“What the fuck?” Richie blatantly said. 

“Cause I’ve got to be freeeeee,”

“You can  _ sing!?”  _

“Free to face the life, that’s ahead of me,” 

“How long have you been able to sing?”

“On board I’m the captain, so climb aboard!” 

“Kaspbrack!”

Eddie turned to Richie dramatically, “We’ll search for tomorrow, on every shore and I’ll try, or Lord I’ll try! TO CARRY ON!” 

“Seriously, how long have you been able to fucking sing?” Richie said insistently. Eddie looked at him with a smirk.

“I was in the fucking middle school musical, Richie! How do you not remember that?” 

“You didn’t have a singing role though!” 

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t sing along with the ensemble behind the scenes, asshat!” 

Richie raised one of his hands in surrender, the other kept firmly on the wheel. “Well how the fuck was I supposed to know that?”

“Wait hold on a sec, we’re getting to the good part.” Eddie said suddenly as the song rose to it’s guitar solo, and Eddie began head banging along to the music. Richie just stared in surprise. The smaller boy began to play air guitar and sang along passionately with the chorus, his eyes closed and hair floating around his face. 

“Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me!” 

Richie felt heat rise up his cheeks and his fingers fiddled with the steering wheel. 

“Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me!” Eddie continued to sing. Richie abruptly turned to face the road, and tried his best to bottle up the fluttering in his chest. The song continued to play and at one point during its progression, Richie started to feel normal once more, and he took it as his cue to start acting like Richie™ again. So he started belting along to the song with Eddie too, until he could barely breathe. 

“COME SAIL AWAY! COME SAIL AWAY! COME SAIL AWAY WITH ME!” And so they continued the drive like so, until of course they got to one song where Richie couldn’t handle dancing behind the steering wheel anymore. 

“Wait, Richie what are you doing?” Eddie asked as the curly-haired teen began to pull off onto the road, the tune floating through the air as Richie frantically tried to pull over. 

“No time to explain, Eds! I have two minutes before the song’s over!” He turned off the car, cranked up the music and fell out of the car and onto the dirt. 

“Richie!” 

The boy shot up off of the ground and after taking a breath, immediately began dancing in the most ridiculous way Eddie had ever seen anyone dance before. His arms flailing wildly, legs kicking at the dirt to the beat of the music, and curls flying about as he nodded his head to the tune. The loud music floated through the air, and Eddie would be lying to himself if he said that the music wasn’t contagious. 

“ _ Let her dance to our favorite song, well let her dance with him, let her dance all night looong!” _

Eddie couldn’t help it, and before he knew it, he was out of the car and dancing just as absurdly as Richie was, a great big smile on his face and his heart pounding against his chest as the sun set. The gold washing over the both of them seemed to drown the scenery in such a way that made Eddie wish he could bottle all of this up. He didn’t want to forget it ever, and as the two of them kept on dancing, he started to memorize every moment. Every breath, every smile, every glint of light that made Richie glow, and every second his heart fluttered that wasn’t from the dancing. He bottled it all up, and cherished it. 

And long after the song had ended and another one began, the two boys still continued to dance in the evening light. Quickly following  _ Let Her Dance,  _ was Billy Joel’s  _ Longest Time _ , and Eddie was thankful for the change in pace. The previous song was so energetic that he was breathless by the time it had ended. And instead of wild flailing, the two teens feel into a relaxed bop. And of course, since it was sort of a love song, Richie pretended to sing it to Eddie in over dramatic lip sync. 

“ _ Now I know that happiness goes on! That’s where you found me, when you put your arms around me, _ ” he extended his hand to Eddie, who took it without hesitating and Richie pulled him close. Not close enough for it to be romantic but just enough so that either of them could let go or step back if they wanted to. Neither of them did. “ _ I haven’t been there for the longest time! _ ” And as the song went into the chorus, Richie and Eddie began dancing together like a couple would. Except a bit more flamboyantly. They dipped their arms too low to the ground, swung around the street hyperly, and laughed whenever the other would sing off key to the music. They went back and forth with the lyrics.

“ _ Maybe I’ve been hoping too hard, but I’ve gone this far and it’s more than I hoped for.”  _ Richie sang before getting taken over by Eddie.

_ “Who knows how much further we’ll go on _ .  _ Baby I’Il be sorry when you’re gone.” _

_ “I’ll take my chances, I forgot how nice romance is, I haven’t been there for the longest time!”  _

They both laughed, and the two continued to laugh and dance as the music played through the air and the sky turned from gold into silver and the sun switched places with the moon. Eddie noticed how the dim light reflected in Richie’s obsidian eyes and Richie noticed how Eddie seemed to fit perfectly with him. The excited energy dwindled and they noticed how they stood closer together than they had earlier. 

But neither of them took a step back.

And then another song came onto the radio and the mood immediately changed. The tune floated through the air hauntingly and the boys looked at each other as they listened to it.

“ _ Wouldn’t it be nice if we were older, and we didn’t have to wait so long.”  _ And almost reflexively, they began to dance along to it, following the tempo and glancing at each other. 

“ _ Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up, in the morning when the day is new? And after having spent the day together, hold each other close the whole night through?”  _

And then much to Eddie’s surprise, Richie started to quietly sing along to the music, causing pleasant surprise to flash in his chocolate honey eyes. 

“Now when the fuck did you learn how to sing?” he asked, mirroring the conversation they had earlier. Richie scoffed and looked away. 

“Shut the fuck up, dickwad.” 

_ “I wish that every kiss was never ending, oh, wouldn't it be nice? _ ” And seemingly by magic, Richie closed up. He glanced at their feet, his hand stiffening its grip on Eddie’s, and his shoulders becoming rigid. He still danced along to the song, but it wasn’t with the same exuberance that he was showing earlier. It was as if he was waiting for something to happen, and was preparing himself for it. But Eddie didn’t get it, and so he still continued to dance.

“ _ Baby, then there wouldn't be a single thing we couldn't do, we could be married, and then we'd be happy, oh wouldn’t it be nice?”  _

Eddie nodded, agreeing with the song and it’s singer that it would be nice to have that. To have someone to have that kind of life with. One where they didn’t have to hide and were able to be who they were. Being able to wake up one morning with someone you love and who loved you back, and being able to share a life with them. It would be nice...really nice. But it was unrealistic.

“Hey, uhm, E-Eddie?” Richie stuttered all of a sudden, his grip still tight on Eddie’s hand. 

“Yeah?” 

“Uhm, uh, w-what do you, uhm, fuck, uh…” the curly-haired teen muttered. It seemed like he wanted to say something really important by the way Richie stuttered, and Richie almost  _ never  _ stuttered. But then something flashed in his dark eyes and he was able to look Eddie in the eye again. “Why were you walking on the street earlier today?”

And now it was Eddie’s turn to look at the ground. A cruel, sarcastic smirk settling over his face and he couldn't help the unironic scoff that escaped him. 

"Uhhh, me and my mom got in a fight. A bad one. I don't really wanna talk about it." He said blatantly.

"Oh, okay." Richie said. 

And then Eddie thought back to his and his mother's argument. It had been about how she didnt want him spending time with his friends anymore. She didn't want any of their 'filthy' personalities influencing him, and she had no problem listing off which friends she didn't like in particular. "Stay away from that Marsh girl! I've heard about some very unpleasant things about her!" Eddie cringed at the memory. "Don't hang around that Jewish boy, you know how he gets bullied a lot. I don't want my baby in any danger." A bit late for that Ma. "And don't be seen with that Tozier boy, I've heard some rumours around town that he's...one of them. So stay away."

That had been the last straw, and before he knew it, he was out of the house wearing nothing but his shorts, polo, and fanny pack in the middle of the autumn cold. He had been so angry and out of it, that he didn't even think to put on a jacket or maybe even some longer pants. Which leads up to now, when Eddie begins to shiver from the late evening air. He breathes in shakily and his shoulders automatically tense up. The dancing immediately stops, and Eddie looks up to find Richie staring at him. 

"You cold?" He asks. The other boy nods affirmatively, and before he can say anything to Richie, he takes off his brightly colored jacket and drapes it across Eddie's shoulders. The cold instantly stops and the smaller teen is filled with a fluttering warmth in his chest. He glances up at Richie, who takes his hand again and resumes their dancing in a heartbeat. 

Eddie doesn't mind. 

"Wait, but aren't you gonna be cold now?" He asks in concern.

Richie scoffed. "Nah dude, I'm gonna be plenty warm when I fuck your mom later." 

"Oh god, shut up!" 

Richie laughed and Eddie smiled despite the vulgar joke. And then Eddie realized that the song they were listening to had ended. A pang of disappointment echoed in his chest, because he liked that song, but then he heard what was already playing and he couldn't help the blush that crept up his cheeks. 

"Richie?" He begins. The other boy hears the song too and immediately stiffens. "What station is this?" 

"The, uh, classics station."

Eddie nods. "And do they uhm, usually play these kind of songs?" 

"Every once in a while, they do yeah." He said tightly. "Want me to change it?" 

"Uh, no, no it's-it's fine. We can keep listening to it." Eddie said abruptly. 

" _ Put your head on my shoulder, hold me in your arms, baby."  _ The radio played. The lyrics drifted through the air, creating a much different environment than they were earlier that day, and then all of a sudden the boys noticed things that they hadn't earlier. 

Eddie noticed the moon that started to glow bright in the sky, bathing the country fields in a silver light. 

Richie noticed the headlights from the car, acting as a spotlight on the two. 

Eddie noticed the crickets chirping happily along the hills. 

Richie noticed how well their feet stepped together. 

Eddie noticed how close they had gotten, almost nose-to-nose. 

Richie noticed how perfectly Eddie's hand fit in his. 

Eddie noticed how the light reflected so beautifully in Richie's eyes. 

Richie noticed how the air smelled like grass and fresh linen. Probably from Eddie's clothes. 

Eddie noticed how perfect this moment was. How beautiful and wonderful it was and he noticed how it just felt right. He decided to bottle up this moment and he knew he would come back to remember it forever. He leaned in close.

Richie noticed how he couldn't bottle it up anymore. He couldn't keep ignoring it and forgetting the way that he felt. There was no way around it, and he realized in that moment, that sometimes when you put too much stuff in a bottle, the glass cracks, and it breaks away. 

Now was the moment where he put too much in it, and it was getting close to breaking. He leaned in close too.

" _ Just a kiss goodnight, maybe, you and I will fall in love,"  _

And in one split second, they closed the gap between them, their lips meeting halfway. Richie went to cup Eddies face, noticing how soft his skin was beneath his touch, and the other boy wrapped his arms around his waist, and he noticed just how well they seemed to fit together. Equal warmth rose up inside of both of them and it kept them safe from the chilliness of the autumn, night air, with the heat blushing their cheeks pink.

But just as quickly as it happened, it ended. 

Their lips felt as if they were buzzing happily and each touch and movement felt like electricity between them. The kiss wasn't long enough for it to be uncomfortable and it wasn't short enough for it to feel lacking, so to the both of them it was just right, and it portrayed everything they felt in that moment. 

They both knew it wasn't a mistake and both of them knew that the other didn't regret it. They just knew that whatever happened had felt natural and good and  _ right. _

_ So, so right.  _

And as the music played out, Richie began to stroke Eddie's cheek softly, who responded by leaning his forehead against the taller boy's chest. Richie laid his head on top of the Eddie's hair, contently breathing in the familiar scent of fresh linen and lavender shampoo. It smelled so much like  _ Eddie  _ that the curly-haired teen couldn't help the smile that came onto his face. 

He didn't want this moment to end.

Eddie listened to the music at the same time as he listened to Richie's heartbeat, and to his surprise, it was beating just as hard and fast as his was. He was surprised that his heart hadn't beaten itself out of his chest yet. He smiled softly at that observation, and nudged his cheek against Richie's chest, feeling the shirt fabric crinkle beneath him. If it were up to him, he would stay there all night, but sadly he knew he had to get home. It was late and his mom would be worried sick about him. And he knew that this was going to end soon, and he very much regretted it. 

But for now he pushed that thought out of his mind and focused on the now. 

Which was in Richie's arms, under the starlit sky, and listening to a soft ballad as their worries drifted away. 

And it was perfect. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that was a good ending! I felt like it was a natural ending, so i decided to stop it there.  
I really hope you guys liked it, and please comments or leave kudos! Love you guys!


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